An Australian Woman Reminds Us That It’s Time To Step Up Our Résumé Game

Chocolate is a dark morsel of temptation that few of us can deny ourselves. We love to eat it, snort it, drink it, live it, study it, and so, so much more. One very clever Australian woman found something new to do with our beloved chocolate.

Enter Renata Chunderbalsingh. She is in the process of a career switch. As one does in the throes of changing careers, Chunderbalsingh is sending out the résumés. What sets Chunderbalsingh apart from the average applicant is something irresistible — chocolate.

Gemma Lewis/LinkedIn

Potential employers have received a nifty bar of chocolate detailing Renata Chunderbalsingh’s various talents and work histories on the wrapper. Inside the foil, potential employers find a standard résumé wrapped around a very edible bar of cocoa-infused temptation. Some may call this tactic bribery. After all, who among us can resist free chocolate? We’d like to think of it as a baller move on her part to stand above the crowd all while sweetening the deal. Much to Willy Wonka’s chagrin, she’s looking for a job in marketing, not as chocolatier.

Overall, innovative and über-clever résumés are the bee’s knees of modern job hunting. New York Career Consultant Lynn Berger states in Business Insider that, “Your résumé has to dress the part. Just like you wouldn’t wear a miniskirt to a job interview, you need to match the résumé to the job you’re looking for.” So take a long, hard look at that white 8×11 you’ve printed your résumé on. You might want to jazz it up before hitting the streets in search of that new dream job.

No. For the VAST majority of jobs, you do not want to jazz it up. Your resume will end up in the shred box that much faster. Hiring managers who see dozens of resumes every day do not want to take the time to figure you out.

This is honestly terrible advice unless you’re applying to a few specific fields– marketing might be one? I’ve been a hiring manager for years. I guess I’m technically not one now, but I interview at least a person a week on the average as a SME, so it’s fair to say that this is a problem I’ve dealt with a lot from the other side. Generally, I want to see a tight resume with little fluff. In fact, tuning your resume to less volume is something I’d always recommend– I’ve never heard anyone involved in the process complain about this style of resume. Punchy, quick, and to the point– this is what gets you noticed. Here’s another tip: only apply to jobs for which you’re actually qualified. Don’t dissemble or oversell your experience. I’d rather take a shot on someone switching career paths that isn’t overselling their credentials if they’ve got something I can build on, but I frequently have people who firmly believe they can “convince me” with no real foundation. This all starts with the resume. Be honest.

Just to add yet a little bit more emphasis to the point– I switched jobs and tracks within my own career recently. Now that I’m a little more proven/we’re past the honeymoon, folks have commented that the fact that I owned my areas of opportunity was a really strong point in the hiring process.

@wordweary Thought it was clear with the quote, make the resume that fits the job you’re after, and saying “might.” Of course creative jobs look for creative people. And you’re dead right about keeping it simple even then.

I used to hire English teachers for posts, and, my god, some of their resumes would just go on and on and on. So I totally know what you mean and agree.